Back when I first started blogging years ago, it was all very
simple. You only needed the basic tools: a blog and a computer/laptop. As the
years go past, I am becoming a lot more serious with my blogging and I have
tried many different resources and tools to help make my blog run a lot
smoother and become more efficient. I wanted to share with you some of the
tools that I find essential when it comes down to maintaining my blog, let’s
get started.

Camera

Probably one of the most obvious tools. Of course you can maintain
a blog without adding any photos to it however it all seems a bit dull and
unprofessional without them (in my opinion). You’re more likely to attract a
bigger audience if you have photos on your site. What camera you decide to use
is completely up to you, as you don’t always need a fancy DSLR when you’re
first getting started. I personally use my iPhone camera for some blog pictures
and I edit them on VSCO Cam. I
already own a Nikon B500 camera from
when I did photography in sixth form therefore sometimes I tend to use that too
but just use whatever you feel comfortable with.

Notebooks

I can’t even begin to tell you how many notebooks I own. It’s
slightly ridiculous however I go through them way too quickly. Notebooks are
super handy when it comes down to staying organized with your blog. I have a
whole notebook dedicated to blogging
ideas, then I have another one completely dedicated to my blog routine. I
like to schedule my posts and check
off my to-do lists on a daily basis.

Social
Media Scheduling

I have only just started scheduling my Twitter posts recently and
I’m so glad I did as it makes things 100 times easier. One of the main things
when it comes to blogging is promoting
your posts, if you don’t promote what you write it makes your blog a lot
harder to find and less people will read it. My main source of promotion is
Twitter and I like using the Buffer app
to schedule when my next promo tweet will go up. This is perfect for those who
work full time during the day and don’t have a lot of time to spend on social
media, simply schedule your posts the day before and let them automatically
post on your Twitter throughout the day.

Google
Analytics

If you’re like me and you check your page views via Blogger, then
stop what you’re doing. After a ton of research I found out that the Blogger
page views aren’t correct and they’re not a true representation of how many
views you’re getting monthly. Instead, sign up to Google Analytics if you’re wanted to analyse the success of your
posts. If you want to learn more about this, head over to this postHEREwhere
Leah from Devoted to Pink shares the
basics about Google Analytics and tells you how to effectively monitor your
blog traffic.

Snapseed
+ VSCO Cam

Everyone needs a photo editing app, and these two are my absolute
favourites. Snapseed is the first
one I use, mainly to get that perfect white
background. If the lighting isn’t looking too great and the photos come out
a bit dull then Snapseed can help you out with that. Moving onto VSCO Cam which I’m sure pretty much
everyone has heard about. You can edit pretty much anything with this app and
it contains a variety of FREE Instagram worthy filters. What’s not to love?

I’d love to
know what blogging tools and resources you like using on a daily basis!

To me, there’s nothing better than snuggling up in my PJ’s,
grabbing a good cup of tea and maybe some popcorn if I feel like getting real
fancy, to watch a movie. I’m an absolute movie geek and the fact that myself
and the boyfriend have unlimited cinema cards is perfect for us. We legit go to
the cinema around twice a week if we’re not too busy and its fab. I’m going to
share with you some of the movies that I could watch over and over again
without getting bored. The ones that I just can’t resist.

The Notebook. Of course,
most girls favourite love story and a good ol’ tear-jerker. I can be the
soppiest romantic person when I want to be therefore I feel like this movie was
made for people like me. The love story in this is without a doubt one of my
favourites. Plus, RYAN GOSLING.

Drive. Speaking of
Ryan Gosling… I love him in this film. I have to be in a certain mood to watch
an action/crime film and when I am, this one always comes to mind. Although I
would stay away if you don’t like gore.

Mean Girls. You go Glen
Coco. This is the most classic chick flick to watch at a sleepover with your
friends. I have seen this movie so many times that I know the whole script.
Literally not even an exaggeration. No matter how many times I watch this, it
still gives me endless amount of giggles.

Hairspray. One of my
favourite musicals. (Apart from La La Land). Hairspray is
just one of those up-beat feel good musicals that I can’t help but want to
dance and sing along to every single time. I’m pretty sure my boyfriend gets
fed up with the amount of times I start singing ‘I can hear the bells’ out of
nowhere.

Harry Potter.
Who
doesn’t love a bit of Harry Potter? I have grown up watching it and I wouldn’t
want it any other way. I’ve been through so many emotions whilst watching the
films and I can’t even begin to explain how happy I was when I found out about
Fantastic Beasts!

Star Wars. A lot of
people have been shocked when I’ve told them how much of a Star Wars geek I am.
I remember watching them back to back when I was younger and a few years back,
I did a Star Wars Marathon on May 4th
(be with you) Get it? But no seriously, we started at 6am and finished at
9pm. It was great.

Bridesmaids. One of the
funniest films I have ever watched. I saw this twice at the cinema and a few
times at home and it still makes me laugh to the point where my belly hurts.

Ghost. I remember my
mum showing me this film when I was younger, and then I remember crying my eyes
out in her arms afterwards. It’s such a beautiful film. Patrick Swayze and Demi
Moore do such a fantastic job in this too.

The Fault in
our Stars. Another one that will produce you to tears. I read the book in
about 2 days, and then of course I was super excited when I heard they were
making a film out of it. I saw it the first night it came out and I simply
loved it, although I cried my eyes out. I think the most exciting thing ever
was when I went to Amsterdam, myself and the boyfriend visited the famous bench
that was in the film and we ended up putting a love lock onto it. It was a cute
moment okay?

Prisoners. Wow. This
movie gives me way too many emotions. It’s a good 2 hours and 30 minute film
however it’s literally one of my favourite crime/mystery films ever. Hugh
Jackman plays an amazing role alongside Jake Gyllenhaal who is also amazing. If
you’re a parent, I feel like this movie would make you feel terrified of
leaving your kids alone to play outside. It terrified me and I’m not even a
parent lol.

I feel like I
wanted to add a lot more films into this but these are the ones that I most
enjoy watching. I’d love to know if you like any of these too. What are your
favourites to watch over and over again?

If you know me then you’d know that I am a huge fan of Jeffree
Star Cosmetics, his liquid lipsticks are one of my favourites in terms of
formula, pigmentation and the whole colour range. Ever since his Skin Frost
collections came out last year I have had my eye on the Ice Cold shade for what
seems like F O R E V E R. I was
super undecided about this product as I didn’t want to spend £25.50 for a
highlighter however it’s so worth it and I’m very happy that I did.

When I received this product, I was surprised with how heavy and large
the packaging was. It comes in a beautiful vibrant pink plastic container with
the Jeffree Star logo printed on the lid in a kind of duo-chrome colour. It has
a generously sized mirror which you can see your whole face in making it easy
to apply the highlighter. You get 15g of product in this bad boy! Which immediately
makes me think I’ve got my money’s worth already considering if we compare it
to Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector for example, you only get 8g of product in
that for a whopping £32.

In terms of the formula, it’s amazing. Just as I expected it to
be. Its super pigmented and blends out beautifully on my skin as it has a
buttery smooth feel to it. The formula reminds be a bit of Makeup Geek Foiled
Eyeshadows as it’s has a super metallic look to it. You only need the tiniest
amount of product for that beautiful glow, a little goes a very long way with
this. I bought mine off of Beauty Bay where they have a wide range of 12
shades, I opted for Ice Cold as I’m more on the pale side and I find that this
would work perfectly for those with a more fair skin tone. I struggled to find
a highlighter that suits my pale skin until now.

(excuse the burn marks on my hand, i accidentally burn myself at work a lot lol)

Did anyone else own a fan brush but never knew what it was for? I
only recently discovered the wonderful world of highlighting at the beginning
of last year and realised that fan brushes are the one when it comes down to
highlighter. I understand that some people hate using fan brushes as they feel
like it doesn’t pick up enough product however my fan brush picks up the
perfect amount for an everyday glow. If you’re wanting a more dramatic highlight
then I’d suggest using Morphe E30 for a more precise application too.

I will most definitely
be purchasing his products in the future, I actually have my eye on his Peach
Goddess shade and I want to try to get my hands on the Jeffree Star and Manny
MUA Collab products. Have you tried any of Jeffree’s products yet?

I
went out on a hunt for a new dry shampoo, I wanted something a bit different as
I tend to re-purchase the original Batiste dry shampoo although I’ve never
liked the fact that it leaves a white cast through my hair yet it manages to
make my hair feel super clean. I was very intrigued when I saw the newest from Batiste
with their 2 in 1 dry shampoo and conditioner.

I
want to start by saying that I love the scent of this. I opted for the Orange
and Passion fruit as I tend to lean towards fruity and tropical scents. I
believe there are 2 more flavours in this range: Vanilla and Passionflower or
Cocoa and Cashmere.

The
one key word which interested me the most was “invisible”. Yep that’s right,
the product leaves no white residue through your hair but does it actually work
as well as the original Batiste when it comes down to cleaning my hair?

The
product claims to refresh roots and nourish the ends of your hair with their
new 18 hour conditioning properties. It specifically targets dryness and
conditions the areas where it’s needed. It also says that it doesn’t leave any
excess oil and claims no more dryness leaving your hair smooth and hydrated. I’m
quite lucky as my hair doesn’t get greasy until the 3rd/4th
day, I shook the can really well beforehand and then sprayed a little amount
through my roots whilst massaging it in. It left no white cast which I was
really happy about however I’m not too sure as to what it did for my oily
roots. Although my hair felt soft and a lot smoother than before, it made my
roots look shiny and if anything, more greasier. Saying that, I prefer using it
on the mid lengths and ends of my hair where it’s the most driest to give it a
bit more of a healthy shine.

Considering
how much I love Batiste as a brand and how I have been using their products for
years, I have never been let down. I am a bit disappointed in this particular
product though. I don’t hate it, but it’s not the best. It doesn’t work for me
and I kind of feel like I’ve wasted my money a little bit. I wouldn’t recommend
this for anyone that gets greasy hair pretty quickly, I feel like this may be
targeted for those who are on the dry side. For now on, I’ll most likely stick
to the original Batiste.

Ahh, the wonderful months of spring. Pretty flowers, nice weather,
a colourful wardrobe and a time to switch around my makeup products. Even
though I’m more of an autumn/winter kind of girl, I am really enjoying playing
around with more subtle colour and dewy skin looks. For me personally, spring
is all about the bright colour lips and the glowing base. Take a peak of the
product that I will be using throughout the spring months.

Seventeen
WOW Skin 3 Way Highlighter | £5.99

I always come back to this product during the warmer and brighter
months. Glowy skin is a must for me as I like making my skin look as healthy as
possible and this product does exactly that. It’s the ultimate skin pick me up
for those days where my skin looks a bit dull and tired. You can use this in a
variety of different ways: to prime, add to your foundation, use as a liquid
highlighter or you can use It on the days where you don’t want to wear any
makeup yet still want your skin looking radiant and at its best.

Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Foundation | £30

I don’t like wearing heavy foundations during spring, especially
if the weather is sunny. I feel like if I wear a heavy, full coverage
foundation in hot weather it can start to look very cakey on me and it kind of
sinks into my pores and creases around the areas where it shouldn’t. This is
why I completely fell in love with Tarte Rainforest of the Sea foundation, it’s
water based therefore feels super lightweight on the skin yet it still manages
to cover up any blemishes due to its medium coverage (which is very buildable).
I did a full review on thishere if you’d like to know more.

Collection
Gorgeous Glow Blush Block | £3.99

This extremely affordable blush is something I have been using every
day. I normally tend to stick to matte blushes however its spring and I like to
switch it up to the glowing skin. This product contains 5 different peachy pink
blush shades with tiny champagne shimmer particles to give your skin that flush
of colour and glow at the same time.

MAC Lady
Danger | £16.50

I purposely bought this lipstick last year for the summer months
and I wore it all the frickin’ time. It’s the perfect bright coral red shade
which looks amazing with a neutral eye look and it suits so many skin tones.
Although it’s a matte finish, it still manages to glide over the lips smoothly
and doesn’t dry your lips out too much. The pigmentation on this is incredible,
you get full coverage and high colour throughout one swipe. It’s truly a show
stopper and my go-to lipstick for the spring time.

Too Faced
Sweet Peach Palette | £39

Words can’t even begin to describe how much I love this eyeshadow
palette. Not only does it smell of peaches, it also contains 18 of the most
beautiful shades full of peachy pinks, corals, warm bronzes and pops of purple
that will give you endless amount of options to keep your spring makeup looking
fabulous. Too Faced are one of my favourite brands when it comes down to their
eyeshadow palettes, the formula of the shadows are super buttery and smooth.
They glide onto the lids and blend out like a dream. I have a post on this
whole palette here if you’d like to check it out.

I’d love to
know what products you are using through the spring months!